A search operation continued in Karachi on Saturday to recover an 11-year-old boy who was swept away while swimming in a major water line in Scheme 33, according to a Dawn report. The child, identified as Zahid Mohammed Khan, went missing around 2pm on Friday near Al-Azhar Garden after being caught in the flow of a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation line.
Rescue teams from Rescue 1122 and the Edhi Foundation searched through Friday night but were unable to locate the boy. The operation was later paused due to reduced visibility. Efforts resumed on Saturday at two locations in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, near Samama Shopping Mall and Continental Bakery, with support from the district administration.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson Hassanul Haseeb Khan told Dawn that previous incidents in the same area had ended with bodies being recovered at similar points, where iron grills were installed by the water utility to stop debris and other objects carried by the flow. However, he added that the strong current may have carried the boy further downstream, complicating the search.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the dangers posed by Karachi’s open drainage and water infrastructure. Dawn noted that a similar case last year involving a three-year-old boy near NIPA had triggered public outrage after a prolonged rescue effort.
